With the growing popularity of genealogy and family history, it is easy to find hundreds of internet sites dedicated to the subject; from sites claiming to have huge databases to others that promise to contain information relevant and specific to your family tree, surname or coat of arms.

Beginning Genealogists should be aware that not every genealogy site is as good as the claims they make.

Genealogy Beginner Welcomes Guest Bloggers from the Sinclair DNA One name Study and the Salian DNA Project who have so wonderfully explained everything a genealogy beginner needs to know about how to use DNA testing to help with your genealogy research…and fill out your Family Tree Template!

Recently while researching a family line, I discovered what I hoped might be a breakthrough on a frustrating brick wall. What I actually found was a good reason for beginning genealogists to use caution before including individuals in their family tree without first confirming the source. Truth to tell, this is a sad tale of how genealogy misinformation and mistakes are spread.

This story starts with a search for the parents of John McCallum b. about 1785.

A resident genealogist is a professional on staff at a library, archives or even on a genealogy website who is there to provide family tree research advice and guidance, particularly to genealogy beginners. A quick question to the resident genealogist may save you time as well as a great deal of frustration and it can be a lot of fun.

Growing up in a family with a very healthy and robust “Scotts” pride brought the significance of family history home to me at a young age. From my family I gained an awareness of ancestry. Additionally, I experienced the sense of connection that only comes from knowing your ancestral roots…from the unique perspective of an adopted child.

The genealogy of Upper Canada and/or French Canadian genealogy are amongst the most difficult spheres of ancestral research. This is true not only for the genealogy beginner but also for professional genealogists. Although this area may have some of the best preserved and indexed records in the world it is also one of the most confusing to investigate. This is true for several reasons, most of them being due to historic and multi-cultural influences such as language and the cultural Continue reading “Genealogy Beginner’s French Canadian Genealogy Tips” »

Most beginning genealogists very quickly become familiar with the LDS Family Search site. No surprise there, as Family Search has 2.34 billion free searchable records currently indexed. Millions of family history enthusiasts regularly use the search fields on the home page to explore these records. However, when this search tool fails to result in finding an ancestor, many beginners give up; believing the record they are searching for is not there. This is unfortunate, as there are 312.4 million names Continue reading “LDS Family Search: How to access un-indexed records for the Genealogy Beginner” »